Friday, July 8, 2011

Various things

Baby Goats

OK, here I am at the helm again. I am in my studio and hopefully I can get back into a paint-blog-sleep mode again. I am done traveling for a while, well actually not quite. I will be on Cape Elizabeth for a wet paint event on Sunday, July 17. But that is a one day affair, and not a massive road trip.

Above is a picture of the garden I have been fooling with, I showed in a previous post how I made a little template out of masking tape with pencil drawing on it for a bird house. I managed to throw another afternoon at it the other day and got to this point below.

I have a ways to go yet, I will have to repaint the flowers around the birdhouse and extend the pole on which it stands. Hopefully I can get it to take its place in the unity of the painting. StapletonKearns, the artist who actually lets you see the struggle. Everybody else makes it look easy, I pull my hair out and make faces. I am working round-robin on a gang of half finished paintings stacked around my studio, when I get another whack at this one I will post it and you can see my progress.

I got this question the other day;

Dear StapeCan you explain the ideas, methods and practicaltechniques that you think are most important in making a luministpainting? Any information you give would be well appreciated...................Fissure Cutbait

Dear Fizz;Your question points out a shortcoming of the blog format , at least the way I am doing it. I have written extensively about luminism and tonalism and wrote for weeks on Inness. But only long term and constant readers know that. There is a search box on the upper left and if you type query words into it you will get to lots of material that should help. This blog has grown so huge (933 posts and counting) that even I don't remember all that is on it, or how to find it all. It is a massive labyrinth. I really should figure out an index and make that available somehow, but the thought of indexing almost a thousand entries, while continuing to write others, seems daunting. I need staff.

The first 500 or so posts were almost all art instruction. If you are learning to paint, I suggest you go to the beginning of the blog and read forward. The first half of this blog is like a textbook. After that it grew more baroque and floral. It is now starting to seem more like writing a periodical or a magazine.

I want to do some more of the Encyclopedia of Dumb Design Ideas posts , I have some ideas for those. They are a lot of work, but fun to write and I hope informative. You also get a little story, a soap opera- Pilgrims Progress- distopia on the Zuider Zea.

Tobin Nadeu of Take-it-Easel has a page online now showing the StapletonKearns Signature easel here This is an easel tricked out with the improvements on my own. This is the cadilac of landscape easels. The Chi-Coms made a copy but this is on a wholly different plane. Fine Vermont craftsmanship and maple construction make this a lifetime easel. I have used mine routinely for nearly 15 years. I don't make anything on this, like RGH paints, I want my suppliers to stay in business as I need them. I feel good having my name on this easel. It started out as a sort of joke, "The StapletonKearns Signature Easel" like a Gibson model with a guitarists name on it, but now it really exists.

Held in late January and early February Snowcamp is the flagship model StapletonKearns workshop. Set in an old wooden inn on a high ridgetop in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the views from the property are unbelievable. With the inn there at your back, if you start to freeze, you can run inside for a cup of coffee and a warm up beside the fire. We eat in our own dining room at a big round table and talk about art and our lives in it. These two workshops will fill, sign up if you want to go.

Thanks for the tip on the search function. I always thought that was for searching within blogs in general. I admit though that I went back and read most of the previous posts. I like to know who I am dealing with (as much as a blog will allow for that):):):)

Love the photo of the White Mountains Stape posted. My own experience in New Hampshire is limited as I found it hard to find wide open views like this one. But obviously to the well nitiated the state has possibilites (as well as an admirable art history).

In a comment Stape left on the previous posting he admitted that though he takes tons of reference photos he never gets around to actually painting from them. That made me smile. I have seen very good work done from photos, but I too never really use them. In my case it's more a psychological thing - wanted to individuate from my parents generation where both sides of the family were Eastman Kodak workers. (My mother actually was invited to tea with George Eastman years ago).

I like what you did with the birdhouse-garden painting. I've also done a couple of birdhouse paintings but remained indecisive about the inclusion of birds. What's your opinion on including our feathered friends in such a painting?

I checked out the Take It easel site, and it reminded me of a question I have had for a long time, which I hope you can answer. On the site is an image of the canvas support pegs. There is a brass gizmo sticking out, sort of like a belt loop. What the heck is that for?

Watched that documentary on Pen and Brush in the White Mountains--you were the best part of it, which alas is not saying much. Thanks for providing the redeeming artistic value.

alotter;That is the traditional holder on a Gloucester easel. The canvas can go behind or in front of that loop. The loops can be used to tie the pegs to the easel when not in use. I keep mine in my paintbox though............Stape

About Me

I am a professional landscape painter.I make my living painting pictures.
In my blog I show my paintings, offer some of the techniques, ideas and methods I have learned over the years, and talk about how to make a living as an artist. I present some essays on painting, art, and hopefully amuse you some at the same time. I will also tell you about many of the fine painters I have known over the years and some who died long ago. I talk about my training in the studios of R.H.Ives Gammell and about the many artists who have mentored me along the way. I also try to explain what I THINK makes a good painting, and how to go about making one.
If you have just found this blog, I suggest you go back to the earliest posts and read forward. It is now an enormous archive of about a thousand posts. The posts start out with the most basic information and progress towards the more philosophical side of painting. I hope you will find it useful!
.............Stape

Teaching

I do teach and I do travel. If you are interested in booking workshops or having me visit and teach at your institution, school or art association please email me at stapletonkearns@gmail.com I am presently booked for several workshops in the coming year and will be announcing more . If you are interested in attending a workshop please let me know as well.